325.73 
C16i 


Joseph  Gumey  Cannon.   Immigration: 

Speech  of  Hon.  J.G.Cannon  ...  in  the 
House  of  Rep's,  March  24,  1916. 


( 


ILIIMOIS  HISTORICAl  SURVEY 


SLLlHOiS  HS.is"CKi^^t.  50kVEY 


IMMIGRATION. 

SPEECH 

OP 

HON..JOSEPII    G.CANNON, 

of   illinois, 
In  the  House  of  Representatives, 

Friday,  March  24,  1916. 

The  House  in  Committee  of  tbe  Whole  House  on  the  state  of  the  Union 
had  under  consideration  the  bill  (H.  R.  10384)  to  regulate  the  immi- 
gration of  aliens  to,  and  the  residence  of  aliens  in,  the  United  States. 

Mr.  CANNON.  Mr.  Chairinun,  I  have  in  manuscript  largely 
what  I  desire  to  say,  and  this  is  the  third  time  in  my  life  that  I 
have  ever  had  a  manuscript.  I  do  not  intend  to  read  it  entire. 
I  will,  however,  place  it  substantially  in  the  Recokd  if  I  have 
leave  to  extend  my  remarks,  which  I  now  ask. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  gentleman  from  Illinois  asks  unani- 
mous consent  to  extend  his  remarks  in  the  Recoed.  Is  there 
objection? 

There  was  no  objection. 

Mr.  CANNON.  And  before  I  either  read  or  talk  further,  be- 
fore I  forget  it — ai  d  I  will  refer  to  the  gentleman  later,  before 
I  sit  down,  if  I  do  not  forget  it— let  me  say  a  word  to  the  gen- 
tleman from  ]\Iassacxiusctts  [Mr.  Gardner]  with  reference  to 
his  position  touching  this  bill.  It  is  wonderful  how  some  people, 
who,  upon  all  other  subjects,  from  my  standpoint,  are,  as  they 
ought  to  be,  wise  in  the  mnin,  can  stumble  touching  some  vital 
questions,  especially  touching  iumiigration.  The  gentleman  from 
Massachusetts  has  been  opposed  to  immigration  as  far  back,  I 
know,  as  1907,  when  the  law  substantially  nov/  on  the  statute 
books  was  enacted,  and  when  llie  literacy  test  reported  from  the 
committee  was  in  the  bill,  but  not  as  finally  enacted  in  the  bill, 
and  since  that  time  he  has  been  consistent. 

Oh,  he  is  a  good  protectionist.  He  tears  passion  ir.to  tatters 
when  it  comes  to  protection,  and  yet  he  starts  out  with  the 
story  of  a  man  who  was  getting  $10  a  week  or  $12  a  week  Avho 
would  like  to  have  $1G  a  week.  "  How  can  you  expect  to  get 
§16  a  week  when  people  can  come  over  here  and  compete  with 
you  and  work  for  $10  a  week?"  And  yet  he  is  not  consistent 
when  300,000,000  people  new  in  contest  upon  the  other  side— 
34307—15334 


UlMV€»snYOF 

aUHOIS  LiBRARf 

la  URBANA-CHAWPW^^'* 


substantially  nil  of  them  will  be  there,  and  their  children,  for 
a  loni;.  lonj;'  time — manxifacture  and  ship  their  products  to  the 
United  States  and  come  in  competition  with  that  man  he  talked 
to  who  was  setting  $12  a  week,  they  working  at  half  the  wage 
he  is  receiving.  And,  O,  my  southern  friends,  you  are  agonizing 
about  this  comi'etition  from  immigrants  who  you  seek  to  keep 
out,  and  yet  you  stand  for  free  trade  and  let  in  the  products 
of  those  300,000,000  people  abroad,  and  then  you  turn  around, 
not  consistent,  and  make  the  same  argument  that  the  gentle- 
man from  -Massachusetts  makes. 

So  nuich  for  that.  I  have  lived  almost  80  years.  [Prolonged 
applause.]  I  date  back  fairly  well  in  ray  recollection  to  1846. 
I  was  then  a  lad  of  10  years  of  age,  living  on  the  AVaba.sh. 
My  parents  were  pioneers  from  North  Carolina  to  the  Wabash. 
They  were  Quakers  and  small  landholders  in  North  Carolina — 
ray  father,  a  Quaker  by  adoption,  and  my  mother,  from  George 
Fox  down,  by  inheritance.  They  left  North  Carolina,  bearing 
testimony  against  slavery,  as  hundreds  and  midtiplied  thou- 
sands, I  might  say,  like  them  did — they  and  Moravians  and 
other  small  landholders.  What  for?  To  get  away  from  servile 
labor  that  was  performing  similar  l:ibor  which  they  performed 
into  a  country  where  servih^  hi.l)or  did  not  exist.     [Applause.] 

And  yet  I  am  not  hero  to  dwell  greatly  on  ancient  liistory 
except  as  it  illustrates  present  conditions  and  is  germane  to  this 
bill.  Now,  so  far  what  I  have  said  is  not  in  the  manuscript. 
We  all  belong  to  the  human  race.  I  am  glad  to  belong  to  it.  We 
are  divided  into  great  racial  divisions.  The  Caucasian  race 
takes  in  all  those  people,  300,000,000  strong,  who  are  waging 
that  desperate  war,  such  as  the  world  never  saw  before,  on  the 
other  side.  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  Caucasian  race,  whether  it  be 
French,  German,  Irish,  Scotch,  English,  or  Slav;  and  as  to  the 
Italian,  I  am  not  afraid  of  it,  whether  it  is  literate  or  illiterate, 
so  long  as  it  substantially  by  labor  lives  in  the  sweat  of  its 
face,  supports  its  family,  makes  a  small  saving,  and  cares  for 
and  educates  its  children;  and  in  this  country  it  must  educate 
its  children,  because  in  our  common  schools  20,000,000  of  those 
children  are  compelled  to  go  to  school,  whether  their  parents 
assent  or  not.  and  become  literate,  whereas  their  parents,  many 
of  them,  were  illiterate. 

Mi-.  KONOP.    Mr.  Chairman,  will  the  gentleman  yield? 

Mr.  CANNON.     Yes. 

Mr.  KONOP.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  children  of  the  immi- 
grants educate  their  children  far  better  than  the  native  Ameri- 
cans do? 

Mr.  CANNON.  Oh,  I  do  not  think  that  is  a  fact,  stated  so 
broadly.  Yet  it  is  true,  from  my  own  observation  in  Indiana  and 
34307—15334 


8 

in  Illinois  and  from  what  I  read  generally,  tlmt  the  childreu  of  the 
immigrants,  the  second  generation  of  them — the  first  generation 
came  to  this  country — it  is  true  that  they  are  quite  equal  in  the  com- 
mon Rcliools  and  the  high  schools  with  "  o\ir  people,"  as  wo  call 
tlieni,  whose  parents  came  hero  three  or  four  or  five  generations 
ago;  quite  as  competent,  and  quite  as  wise,  and  quite  as  anxious 
for  education,  and  quite  the  equal  of  the  ancient  "  first  families  " 
that  came  to  this  country,  some  of  them  300  years  ago.  hut 
not  a  great  many,  and  many  of  them  100  years  ago,  and  many 
50  years  ago. 

Now,  the  human  family  is  a  peculiar  one.  Man  naturally  is  a 
religious  animal.  I  believe  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts 
is  a  direct  descendant  of  some  one  of  the  people  who  came  over 
in  the  Mayflower.  A  gi'eat  people  they  were.  Why?  Because 
there  was  no  place  on  the  Continent  of  Europe  or  in  Great  Britain 
where  a  man  could  have  freedom  of  religion  and  conscience 
without  persecution.  [Applause.]  Well,  they  came  over  and 
had  a  pretty  hard  time.  They  were  the  "common  people,  the 
Puritans ;  but  no  sooner  did  they  get  over  here  than  they  wanted 
to  have  a  close  corporation  [laughter],  and  they  did  not  want 
anybody  but  Puritans ;   others  were  not  encouraged. 

PIRSr  GUARANTY  OF  HELIGIODS  FREEDOM. 

It  ran  along  that  way  for  several  generations ;  but  early  there 
began  to  be  protests  against  immigration  that  was  not  Puritan. 
There  was  old  Roger  Williams,  that  old  Baptist,  you  know,  who 
did  not  agree  with  the  Puritans.  In  civil  affaii's  he  wanted 
everybody  to  obey  the  law,  but  in  religious  affairs  he  wanted 
every  individual  in  Massachusetts  Bay  and  everywhere  to  have 
freedom  touching  his  religious  views,  without  persecution. 
Well,  they  banished  old  Roger.  He  went  down  to  Providence 
and  Rhode  Island  Plantations.  I  said  that  on  my  mother's 
side  from  George  Fox  they  were  Quakers.  AVell,  there  was  one 
branch  of  them,  the  Folgers,  the  Coffins,  the  Macys,  and  others, 
who  were  residents  in  Massachusetts.  They  went  to  Nan- 
tucket, because  they  had  to  choose  between  going  there  and 
being  hanged  if  they  stayed  in  Slassachusetts.  [Laughter.] 
So  there  you  are. 

Roger  Williams,  the  Baptist,  went  down  to  Providence  and 
Rhode  Island  Plantations,  and  he  secured  a  charter  from  King 
Charles  the  Second,  wlio,  if  I  recollect  aright  in  my  reading  of 
history,  succeeded  the  Protectorate.  That  charter  guaranteed  to 
him  and  all  people  in  that  colony  under  that  grant  religious  lib- 
erty. The  historian  says — I  have  not  verified  it,  but  I  have  no 
doubt  it  is  true — that  in  all  the  history  of  the  world  from  the  be- 
ginning of  time  there  never  before  had  been  written  into  law  any 
enactment  which  guaranteed  religious  freedom. 
34307—15334 


A  little  before  that  a  liberal  charter  was  granted  to  Calvert, 
Lord  Baltimore,  the  Catholic.  Under  the  leadership  of  Calvert 
they  organized  a  government  in  Maryland,  and  the  Toleration 
Act  was  passed,  which  gave  religious  freedom,  and  the  historian 
records  the  fact  that  the  few  Puritans  who  were  in  Virginia, 
wliere  the  Church  of  England  was  the  leading  church,  the  State 
church,  went  to  Maryland  because  of  i>ersecution  in  Virginia. 
Oh,  there  is  much  of  insl ruction  if  you  will  run  back  a  little 
bit  in  the  history  of  the  settlement  of  this  country.  Our  fore- 
bears, worthy  as  they  were,  made  their  mistakes.  The  his- 
torian tells  us  that  INIaryland  was  called  the  Sanctuary.  Well, 
in  the  fullness  of  time,  tliere  being  much  disagreement  about 
immigration  and  much  of  persecution  in  most  of  the  colonies — in 
the  fullness  of  time  came  the  Ilevolution ;  and  then  it  was  that 
the  Irishman,  the  Scotclnnan,  the  German,  the  Hollander,  and 
the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  came  together  as  one  man, 
with  La  Fayette,  Von  Steuben,  Kosciusko,  and  Pulaski  aiding 
Washington  and  hi:j  generals  in  military  strategy,  and  shoulder 
to  shoulder  they  won  out  and  obtained  their  liberty.    [Applause.] 

And,  lo  and  behold,  after  the  Confederation,  when  they  came 
to  frame  the  Constitution  in  17S9,  in  a  convention  presi<Ied 
over  by  Washington,  they  wrote  into  that  Constitution,  where 
it  stands  to-day  and  has  stood  from  that  time  to  this,  the 
guaranty  of  religious  liberty  and  a  divorce  between  church  and 
state,  and  so  it  has  remained  until  this  day.     [Applause.] 

A  step  further.  Immigration  was  invited.  It  came.  A  groat 
many  immigrants  came  from  abroad.  There  were  complaints 
once  in  a  while.  About  181G  there  were  people  agreeing  with 
my  friend  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Gaeunku], 
and  agreeing  with  many  gentlemen  from  the  South  and  the 
West.  I  am  not  abusing  them,  but  it  was  thought  that  there 
were  almost  too  many  coming,  and  that  they  were  poor — many 
paupers,  and  so  forth — the  same  complaint  that  you  have 
now,  although  it  is  only  a  complaint  now,  because  but  few 
paupers  or  undesirable  people  are  coming  now  from  abroad, 
since  1907,  when  the  present  law  was  enacted.  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  flurry  just  100  years  ago.  But  about  the  same  time 
when  western  New  York  was  a  rich  and  unpopulated  land,  and 
Oliio  invited  immigrants,  whole  villages,  townships,  and  cities 
were  substantially  depopulated  by  that  stream  of  emigration 
of  our  kind  of  people  who  went  West.  Common  labor  could 
not  be  had.  Skilled  labor  was  not  very  plentiful,  and  then 
again   immigration  was  courted   and   invited,   and  it  came   in 

reat   streams.     Why   was   that?     It   was  because  there  was 
nobody  to  do  the  conunon  labor  tliat  was  absolutely  necessary 

to  be  done. 

34307—15334 


o 


THE  AMERICAN   ASSOCIATION. 

It  went  on  until  about  1836  or  1837,  and  they  kept  coining 
and  coining,  sent  over  by  Governments  and  by  organizations. 
Agents  were  sent  over,  because  we  needed  tlie  labor.  That  waa 
some  time  prior  to  183G.  They  came  and  helped  build  the  rail- 
roads and  dig  the  canals  and  do  the  common  labor.  But  here 
In  1836  or  1837  the  native-American  movement  was  organized, 
and  a  demand  was  made  which  was  promoted  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  country  against  that  immigration. 
The  organization  demanded  that  the  naturalization  laws  be  i*e- 
pealed  and  that  the  ports  of  the  country  be  closed  against  all 
immigration.  My  friend  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts 
[Mr.  Gaeuneb]  wants  to  close  the  ports  for  10  years,  but  then 
it  was  demanded  that  they  be  closed  entirely. 

Those  agitators  of  1837  had  more  excuse  for  their  opposition 
than  have  those  of  to-day.  There  had  been  years  of  assisted 
immigration. 

In  England  the  parish  officers  sold  houses  belonging  to  the 
parishes  to  secure  the  funds  to  aid  emigration  to  America.  In 
1828  the  health  officer  of  Baltimore,  in  his  annual  report,  de- 
clared that  many  people  had  come  from  foreign  ports  who  were 
absolutely  destitute.  A  year  later  he  mentioned  "  some  lame, 
blind,  and  others  in  a  state  of  idiocy,"  and  told  of  the  arrival 
of  immigrants  whose  passage  had  been  paid  by  the  parishes 
in  England.  Again,  in  1830,  he  described  the  condition  as  de- 
plorable, with  "  the  halt,  the  lame,  and  the  blind  "  among  the 
immigrants.  The  American  consul  at  Jamaica  was  visited  in 
1831  by  the  captains  of  American  ships  who  complained  of  a 
law  which  compelled  them  to  carry  away  one  pauper  for  each 
hundred  tons  of  cargo  or  pay  a  fine  of  £100  currency. 

INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS. 

So  the  native  Americans  again  sought  to  check  immigration 
and  naturalization,  but  the  internal  improvements  which  we 
had  inaugurated  called  for  labor  beyond  the  home  supply ;  we 
had  begun  to  build  canals  and  railroads.  The  contractors  on 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  and  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio 
Canal  could  not  secure  in  this  country  the  unskilled  labor 
necessary  to  carry  on  those  great  works;  so  they  turned  to 
Europe.  They  sent  agents  to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and 
imported  Avorkraen.  They  contracted  to  pay  those  men  ?12  a 
month  and  board,  and  the  men  contracted  to  work  out  their 
passage. 

The  historian  of  the  times  admits  that  the  open  door  was 

abused ;  that  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  other  countries 

emptied  their  poorhouses  and  jails  and  shipped  their  paupers 

and  convicts  to  America.     New  York  put  up  the  bars  against 

34307—15334 


a 

convicts  and  was  tirsed  to  deny  admission  to  paupers.    In  that 
day  Congress  and  tlie  country  loolced  to  the  States,  and  insisted 
tliat   New   Yorlj,    Massachusetts,    Pennsylvania,   and   Maryland 
close  their  ports  to  convicts  and  paupers  to  protect  tlie  country. 
The  agitation  begun  in  1837  against  inuuigration  ran  along 
until  the  forties,  when  great  floods  destroyed  the  crops  in  Ger- 
many, when  multiplied  thousands  were  stricken  with  poverty, 
were  without  subsistence,  and  there  was  a  terrible  condition, 
and  again  emigration  was  promoted  by  Germany.     Just  a  little 
later  came  the  potato  rot  in  Ireland,  where  a  whole  people  were 
starving.     Then,  a  little  later — and  I  will  bunch  the  three  to- 
gether— came  the  revolution  of  1S4S,  when,  as  I  understand  it, 
Mr.  UouENi-.EUG,  that  revolution  having  failed,  your  father  came 
with  Schurt/.  and  Sigel  and  many  others  to  this  country,  300,000 
strong.     [Applause.]     Well,  they  were  welcome.     We  were  very 
.sorry  for  the  Irish  and  the  Germans — especially  for  the  Iri.sh — 
because  they  were  in  abject  want.     You  know  charity  made 
great  contributions,  and  the  United  States  furnished  the  ships 
to  carry  the  cargoes  of  food  across  the  oceans  to  them.     Con- 
gress was  appealed  to,  but  Congress  did  not  respond,  and  the 
reason  it  did  not  respond,  assigned  then,  and  honestly  assigned, 
was  a  condition  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  we  have  now. 
The  Treasury  was  enjpty  and   they  did  not  have  the  where- 
withal to  appropriate  the  half  million  dollars  that  had  been 
asked  for.     [Laughter.] 

Those  who  came  here  found  work,  wages,  and  food,  and 
prospered.  They  wrote  back  to  friends  of  the  opulence  of 
America,  where  the  people  had  three  and  four  meals  a  day, 
with  meat  for  everybody ;  they  said  that  bullocks'  and  sheep's 
heads  were  thrown  away  and  there  were  no  empty  bellies  in 
this  land  of  plenty.  So  the  stream  of  aliens  continued  to  come 
year  after  year  from  Ireland  and  Germany.  The  Irish  gener- 
ally settled  in  the  cities  of  the  East,  while  many  of  the  Ger- 
mans came  in  colonies  and  pushed  on  to  the  West.  Chicago 
has  one-third  of  its  population  made  up  of  aliens.  New  York, 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  other  cities  in  the  East  and  St.  Louis 
in  the  West  had  larger  foreign  population  in  percentage  than 
they  have  to-day.  These  new  immigrants  lived  in  colonies, 
spoke  their  own  languages,  had  their  own  social  customs  and 
amusements,  read  their  own  newspapers  and  books,  and  had 
their  own  military  companies,  uniformed  as  in  the  land  of  their 
birth,  so  that  it  was  said  that  an  assembly  of  these  military 
companies  on  training  days  resembled  a  mimic  review  of  the 
armies  of  the  world. 

It  ran  along,  and  now  we  come  to  a  time  that  I  recollect. 
Mr.  Chairman,  liow  much  time  have  I  consumed? 
34307—15334 


The  CHAIRMAN.    The  gentleman  has  consumed  22|  minutes. 

Mr.  CANNON.  I  am  like  the  gentleman  from  California,  I 
have  hardly  begun ;  but  I  must  hasten  along,  because  there 
are  some  interesting  things  that  I  want  to  say.  I  have  the 
permission  of  the  House  to  print,  so  I  will  jump  along. 

THE    KXOW-XOTHING    MOVEMEXT. 

The  native  American  opposition  broke  out  anew  and  became 
a  powerful  political  organization  threatening  the  supremacy  of 
the  old  parties.  Its  popular  name,  the  Know-Nothing  Party, 
was  due  to  its  secrecy  and  the  professed  ignorance  of  its  plans 
by  those  identified  with  it,  for  no  member  would  admit  that  he 
knew  anything  about  it.  It  worked  in  secret,  all  movements 
directed  from  a  central  agency.  It  proscribed  not  only  aliens 
but  all  native  Americans  who  refused  to  cooperate  with  it. 

I  recollect  it.  I  Avas  a  tolerably  husky  lad  at  that  time,  20 
years  old,  and  since  then  I  have  frequently  thanked  God  that 
I  was  not  old  enough  to  join  it.  Probably  if  I  had  been  old 
enough  I  would  have  joined  it,  because  it  abounded  greatly  on 
the  Wabash.  [Laughter.]  Its  blows  were  delivered  in  the 
dark.  It  proposed  that  none  but  native  born  should  be  eligible 
for  public  office.  Its  hostility  to  the  alien  ramified,  until  it 
proscribed  religious  as  Avell  as  political  organizations,  developed 
antipathies  toward  churches  as  well  as  toward  foreign  born, 
encouraged  riot  and  religious  persecution,  which  resulted  in  the 
burning  of  churches  and  convents,  and  it  created  divisions  in 
other  churches  until  it  almost  appeared  that  the  Christian 
religion  had  become  a  Babel  of  warring  sects  instead  of  a  great, 
harmonious  army  following  the  ^Master.  What  wotild  have  been 
the  outcome  of  the  antagonisms  encouraged  by  this  new  develop- 
ment of  native  Americanism,  much  of  it  less  than  two  genera- 
tions here,  no  one  knows  had  it  not  been  absorbed  or  side- 
tracked by  the  great  antislavery  movement  which  led  to  the 
Civil  War. 

UNION   OF  ALIENS    FOB   NATIONAL  DEFENSE. 

That  great  American  tragedy  developed  the  fact  that  there 
was  no  alien  sentiment  in  our  population.  The  Irish,  the  Ger- 
man, the  Italian,  the  Scandinavian,  and  tlie  Greek  societies  in 
.the  North  became  military  units  in  the  Union  Army,  and  they 
contributed  no  small  part  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
The  men  who  followed  Sheridan  and  those  wlio  fought  with 
Siegel  made  history  in  that  war,  and  it  is  said  that  Jefferson 
Davis  attributed  to  the  aliens  of  the  North  the  defeat  of  the 
Confederate  armies  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

We  have  had  no  such  violent  outbreaks  against  the  alien 
immigrant  since  the  Civil  War  as  those  that  rerurrod  froin  time 
34307—1.5334 


8 

to  time  in  the  generation  preceding  that  war.  We  have  con- 
tinued to  find  work  for  all  our  own  people  and  for  millions 
from  abroad.  "We  have  increased  our  population  from  31,000,000 
in  ISGO  to  300,000,000  in  1910.  and  our  national  wealth  from 
$16,000,000,000  to  $187,000,000,000.  We  have  created  new  em- 
pires in  the  West,  made  conquest  of  mountain  and  desert,  and 
ha\e  developed  a  homogeneous  union  out  of  the  most  discordant 
contributions  of. the  world  to  testify  to  the  vitality  of  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  this  Government  was  founded. 

ALIEN    CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  PROSPERITY. 

The  alien  immigrant  has  contributed  to  this  resiUt,  and  I 
liave  been  unalile  to  see  any  more  danger  from  the  alien  of 
recent  years  than  from  those  who  came  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Republic.  The  Italian,  the  Hungarian,  the  Pole,  the  Lithu- 
anian, and  the  Itussian  Jew  are  just  as  anxious  to  work  as 
were  the  Irish  and  the  German  100  years  ago,  and  they  are 
developing  into  Americans  more  rapidly,  because  we  have 
found  belter  means  to  educate  the  immigrant  and  make  him 
understand  what  this  Government  means.  Should  this  Natio!\ 
be  forced  to  defend  itself  against  any  other  power  on  earth  I 
have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  alien  part  of  our  popula- 
tion would,  without  exception,  bear  its  share  in  the  defense  of 
the  Government  as  it  did  from  18G1  to  1805.  A  literacy  test 
in  the  past  would  have  shut  out  millions  of  people  who  helpetl 
to  develop  tills  continent  and  build  this  Nation,  and  I  believe 
the  future  may  be  .iudged  by  the  past.     [Applause.] 

Who  are  the  aliens  in  America?  They  are  so  large  a  part  of 
the  Nation  that  we  would  not  be  a  Nation  of  100.000,000  with- 
out them.  A  recent  census  report  estimated  that  in  1900  the 
population  resulting  from  immigration  since  1790  amounted 
to  more  than  one-third  of  the  whole,  or  from  25,000,000  to 
30,000,000  out  of  76.000,000  as  the  total  population,  and  that 
they  had  produced  $40,000,000,000  of  the  total  wealth,  which 
then  was  less  than  $100,000,000,000. 

IMMIGRATION  GOVERNED  BY   DEMAND  FOR   LABOR. 

The  tide  of  immigration  has  risen  and  receded  in  respon.se  to 
the  demands  for  labor  in  this  country,  particularly  for  unskilled 
labor.  The  Commissioner  of  Immigration  cx[U'e.sses  the  opinion 
in  his  report  that  a  great  part  of  those  who  give  their  occupa- 
tions as  farmers  and  mechanics  come  to  accept  un.skilled  labor, 
not  from  choice,  but  because  there  is  a  constant  demand  for 
unskilled  labor  in  this  country  that  can  not  be  supplied  at  home. 
It  is  work,  not  the  wage,  that  now,  as  in  the  past,  throws  a 
great  part  of  this  unskilled  labor  to  the  immigrant.  He  begins 
at  the  bottom,  where  he  does  not  compete  with  native  labor, 
and  he  does  not  come  into  competition  with  our  own  labor  until 
3-1307—15334 


lie  has  risen  in  the  scale  by  industry  and  intelligence  to  produce 
sljilled  Ifibor. 

Whenever  this  tide  of  immigration  has  risen  to  numbers  that 
have  alarmed  native  labor,  or  there  has  been  a  depression  in 
business,  the  tide  has  receded.  In  1S72  we  had  a  very  large 
immigration,  but  in  1874,  after  the  panic,  immigration  dropped 
to  less  than  one-half  of  what  it  had  been.  In  1892  there  were 
623,000  immigrants,  and  in  1895  only  280,000.  Mr.  Gompers,  in 
his  report  to  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  1894,  said 
that  there  were  3.0(X),000  unemployed  in  this  country. 

In  1905,  1906,  and  1907  there  were  more  than  1,000,000  immi- 
grants each  year,  but  in  1908,  after  the  business  depression,  the 
number  of  immigrants  fell  to  782,000. 

Mr.  Morrison,  secretary  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
is  reported  in  the  hearings  of  this  committee  as  estimating  that 
there  were  between  4,000,000  and  5,000,000  unemployed  last 
year.  The  net  immigration  of  1915  Avas  43,000.  In  the  last 
six  months  of  1915  the  net  gain  by  immigration  was  2,392,  and 
in  December  there  were  570  more  departures  than  arrivals. 
Tlie  Commissioner  of  Immigration  says :  "  These  figures  show 
quite  clearly  that  the  decline  in  immigration  had  begun  prior 
to  the  outbrealv  of  the  European  war  and  was  probably  a  re- 
flection of  industrial  conditions  in  the  United  States." 

WHENCE    COMES    DEMAND    FOR    nESTRICTION. 

Tills  demand  for  the  restriction  of  immigration  comes  largely 
from  sections  of  the  country  which  receive  little  immigration ; 
the  Southern  States  receive  only  2  per  cent. 

Mr.  HARDY.  If  the  gentleman  will  allow  me,  is  Texas  in- 
cluded in  the  Southern  States  that  he  mentions? 

Mr.  CANNON.     Yes. 

air.  COOPER  of  West  Virginia.  Is  West  Virginia  included 
in  the  .statistics? 

Mr.  CANNON.  I  think  not;  still  I  will  not  answer  certainly. 
These  statistics  were  gathered  for  me.  I  have  respect  for  tlie 
leaders  of  the  great  labor  organizations,  l)Ut  I  sometimes  tliink 
they  become  unduly  alarmed  over  this  question  and  fail  to 
understand  the  real  .sentiments  of  the  people  whom  they  repre- 
sent. We  have  here  petitions  from  the  United  Jliners'  Union, 
and  yet  tlie  majority  of  tlie  miners  are  immigrants  who  are 
aiding  to  bring  their  friends  here  and  secure  work  for  them. 
It  is  the  same  in  many  other  branches  of  labor,  and  I  have  lieen 
nnablo  to  find  the  same  hostility  to  the  immigrant  in  tlie  ranks 
of  labor  that  is  repre.sented  by  the  leaders  of  the  lalior  or- 
ganizations. There  has  always  been  a  kindred  feeling  in  tlie 
ranks  of  labor,  which  extends  the  hand  of  fellow.ship  to  new- 
comers. 

34307—15334  ^ 


10 

PRESENT  INCREASE  IN  rOPULATION. 

What  reason  is  there  for  greater  restriction  now  when  we 
have  practically  no  immigration?  The  increase  in  population  of 
the  United  States  in  the  census  decade  was  the  lowest  recorded 
since  the  Government  was  organized.  From  1790  to  1800  the 
increase  was  35.1  per  cent ;  in  the  next  decade,  36.4  per  cent ; 
the  next  three  decades,  33  per  cent ;  from  1840  to  18G0,  35.5 
per  cent ;  from  ISGO  to  1870,  22.6  per  cent ;  from  1870  to  1880, 
30  per  cent ;  from  1880  to  1S90,  25.5  per  cent ;  from  1890  to  1900, 
21.2  per  cent ;  and  from  1900  to  1910,  21  per  cent.  The  down- 
ward tendency  will  probably  be  greater  in  tlie  present  census 
decade  than  in  the  last  decade. 

President  Lincoln,  in  his  message  of  1862,  estimated  that  the 
population  of  the  United  States  in  1910  would  be  138,918,526, 
or  40,000,000  greater  than  it  was  recorded  by  the  last  census. 
He  saw  in  an  increase  of  population  a  boon  for  the  country,  but 
some  of  our  people  to-day  are  less  optimistic  and  see  only  danger 
in  tlie  growth  of  population.  I  can  not  agi'ee  with  them,  for 
the  development  of  the  great  resources  of  this  country  depend 
upon  its  population. 

The  forests,  the  iron  ore,  the  coal,  and  the  prairies  have 
been  here  for  imtold  ages,  but  America  only  became  the  richest 
Nation  on  earth  when  thei'e  were  people  here  to  develop  and 
utilize  these  natural  riches ;  and,  let  me  tell  you,  brawn  has 
played  quite  as  great  a  part  in  this  development  as  brain. 
While  I  want  to  see  all  our  people  educated,  I  haA-e  often  found 
as  much  brain  action  in  those  who  could  neither  read  nor  write 
as  in  the  products  of  some  of  our  colleges.  The  State  prisons 
of  New  York  have  as  many  college  and  academy  graduates  as 
they  have  of  the  illiterate  [laughter],  and  the  head  teacher  at 
Sing  Sing  reports  that  many  of  those  who  possess  ability  to 
read  are  unable  to  understand  the  meaning  of  wliat  they  read. 
I  prefer  understanding  to  such  a  literacy  test.     [Applause.] 

We  have  corrected  the  mistakes  of  the  past,  and  no  longer 
may  the  mentally,  morally,  or  physically  deficient  enter  our 
ports;  nor  may  they  come  under  contract,  nor  in  the  old, 
crowded  condition  of  immigrant  sliips.  We  liave  now  well- 
considered  laws  to  guai'd  this  country  from  the  immigrant  when 
he  becomes  a  charge  on  our  own  people ;  we  admit  only  those 
who  may  contribute  by  labor  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  country, 
its  industries,  and  its  wealth.  The  literacy  test  has  not  in  the 
past,  as  applied  to  our  own  people,  produced  better  and  more 
efficient  workers,  especially  in  the  shops  and  mines  and  on  the 
farms.  I  do  not  believe  it  will  improve  the  quality  of  our  im- 
migration. 

34307—15334 


11 

Some  gentlemen  here  fear  that  the  close  of  the  European  wars 
will  increase  the  tide  of  immigration,  but  I  do  not  so  believe. 
Europe  will  have  need  for  all  her  able-bodied  men  to  make  up 
for  the  ravages  of  war.  Our  laws  now  prevent  the  coming  of 
those  who  would  become  a  charge  upon  this  coimtry. 

WHO    AEE    TUB    NATIVE    A&IEUICAXS? 

But  who  are  the  native  Americans?  I  have  for  years  tried 
to  find  the  native  element  in  our  population.  I  recently  turned 
to  a  report  of  the  Census  OfRce,  under  the  title  of  "A  Century  of 
Population  Growth,"  in  which  is  given  a  list  of  the  family 
names  which  appeared  in  the  First  Census  in  1790.  This  does 
not  give  all  of  the  names  of  the  more  than  thirty  himdred 
thousand  people  living  then  in  the  United  States,  but  it  does 
pretend  to  give  all  the  family  names  that  represented  100  or 
more  people,  on  the  assumption  that  the  "  heads  of  families  iu 
1790  were  the  founders  of  the  Republic,"  and  that  these  names, 
numbering  27,337,  would  be  "  the  basis  for  our  American  gene- 
alogy." There  were  then  thirty -one  hundred  and  seventy-two 
thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-four  white  people  in  the 
United  States,  and  less  than  30,000  family  names.  These  were 
the  native  whites  in  this  country  when  the  Constitution  was 
adopted  and  Washington  became  the  first  President. 

How  many  of  us  can  trace  our  lineage  back  to  those  first 
American  families,  and  how  many  of  us  are  compelled  to  trace 
our  lineage  back  to  the  alien  immigrant?  I  tried  to  trace  the 
membership  of  this  House  back  to  that  American  "Almanac  dc 
Gotha,"  and  I  could  not  locate  one-third  of  you.  [Laughter  and 
applause.]  There  are  135  IMembers  of  this  House  whose  family 
names  can  not  be  found  in  the  First  Census  of  the  United 
States.  These  135  Representatives  represent  the  alien  immi- 
gi'ants  to  this  country,  but  who  will  deny  that  they  have  Ameri- 
can names?  I  found  the  name  of  the  gentleman  from  Massa- 
chusetts [Mr.  Gardner],  who  is  one  of  the  later  pioneers  of  this 
movement,  written  in  15  different  ways,  and  that  may  justify 
his  position.  [Laughter  and  applause.]  I  found  the  name  of 
the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Immigration  and  the  autlior 
of  this  bill,  but  few  of  the  other  members  of  the  committee  can 
trace  their  lineage  back  to  the  first  families.  I  was  able  to 
find  my  own  name  there  spelled  in  six  different  ways,  from 
Cannon  to  Canine,  but  I  have  other  historical  records  that 
some  of  my  ancestors  were  driven  out  of  New  England  long 
before  this  First  Census  on  pain  of  having  their  ears  cut  olf 
if  they  remained;  so  I  have  no  particular  pride  in  finding  my 
name  among  the  fir.st  families  of  the  Republic.  I  am  willing 
to  be  put  down  with  the  aliens  of  this  Hou.se.  [Laughtoi-.] 
34307—15334 


12 

The  Senate  is  not  better  represented  in  that  old  list  than  the 
House.  Wliilo  my  friend  [Mr.  Garuner  of  Massachusetts]  is, 
as  I  said,  represented  by  35  different  spellings,  I  have  been  un- 
able to  find  the  name  of  his  distinguished  father-in-law,  the 
senior  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  who  is  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant and  cultured  men  in  public  life.  That  ought  to  be  a  con- 
solation to  some  of  you.  If  Senator  Ix)dge  is  an  alien,  who 
among  us  may  not  be  proud  of  the  title?     [Applause.] 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  is  not  the  only  place  where 
scions  of  the  first  families  do  not  monopolize  the  membership. 
There  were  no  McKennas,  no  McReynolds,  no  Pitneys,  no  Van 
Deventers,  and  no  Brandeis  for  the  membership  of  the  Supreme 
Court ;  no  McAdoos,  no  Burlesons,  and  no  Houstons  to  sit 
around  the  Cabinet  table.  Business,  commerce,  manufacture, 
science,  literature,  art,  and  labor,  as  now  represented  in  our 
great  American  family,  would  have  lost  in  nomenclature  if  not 
in  development  had  the  first  Congress  of  the  United  States  en- 
actetl  such  legislation  as  this  and  closed  the  ports  to  the  alien 
immigrant.  1  can  find  in  that  list  of  first  families  in  1790  no 
Agasiz,  Edi.son,  or  Westinghouse ;  no  Carnegie,  llarriman,  Hav- 
emeyer,  or  Mackey ;  no  Astor,  Belmont,  Lorillard,  or  Leiter ; 
no  Funston  or  Pershing ;  no  Watterson  or  Pulitzer ;  no  St. 
Gaudens  or  La  Farge ;  no  Gompers  or  Morrison ;  no  Billy  Sun- 
day or  Mary  Pickford. 

Mr.  SIEGEL.     And  thei-e  was  no  Hughes. 

Mr.  CANNON.     I  did  not  look  far  enough  to  find  out. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  time  of  the  gentleman  from  Illinois 
has  expired. 

Mr.  SIEGEL.  I  yield  to  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  15 
minutes  more. 

Mr.  CANNON.  These  are  a  few  of  the  names  which  would 
never  have  appeared  in  American  history  had  Congress  in  1790 
seen  fit  to  legislate  against  the  alien  inunigrant.  But  there  is 
one  other  name  absent  from  this  old  list  of  first  families  with 
which  we  have  all  become  familiar  in  recent  years,  for  it  has 
appeared  in  the  public  prints  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
associated  with  stirring  events  in  both  military  and  civil  life; 
at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  rough  riders,  as  governor  of  New 
York,  as  Vice  President  and  President  of  the  United  States; 
as  lion  hunter,  explorer,  naturalist,  discoverer  of  the  Kiver  of 
Doubt,  as  idol  of  many  people  who  call  themselves  the  true 
Americans  of  this  composite  people ;  the  name  of  Roosevelt 
does  not  appear  in  any  form,  synonym,  or  root  in  the  list  of  first 
families.     [Laughter  and  applause.] 

Who,  then,  are  the  native  Americans  who  have  for  100  years 
poriodicn'ily  grown  hysterical  about  putting  up  the  bai'S  to 
34307- -1. -.331 


13 

protect  tliemselves  against  alien  blood,  and  then  opening  wide 
the  gates  to  welcome  iuiniigrution  to  an  enlarged  field  of  labor 
in  this  melting  pot  of  the  world,  which  has  for  300  years  been 
pouring  from  its  crucible  a  new  composite  American  to  stand  as 
a  type  both  like  and  unlike  those  of  the  older  civilizations  from 
which  the  virile  blood  of  America  has  been  drawn?    [Applause.] 

SERVILE   LABOR. 

Before  I  sit  down  T  want  to  ask  why  is  it — and  I  call  the 
attention  of  the  gentlemen  from  the  South  to  that — why  is  it 
that  the  gentleman  from  Alabama  reports  this  bill?  Why  is  it 
when  only  2  per  cent  of  the  immigration  that  comes  from  abroad 
goes  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line?  I  think  I  can  exi:)lain  it 
without  abusing  anybody.  I  do  not  abuse  anybody.  I  was  born 
in  North  Carolina,  and  I  have  a  warm  feeling  for  that  State 
and  for  its  climate,  and  my  mother's  eyes  would  fill  with  tears 
\\Iienever  she  talked  about  it.  You  had  servile  labor  and  you 
had  a  white  aristocracy.  Labor  was  not  considered  honorable 
by  the  men  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  There  would  have 
been  no  struggle  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  fact  that  on  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Ohio  labor  was  servile  and  not  considered 
honorable,  while  on  the  north  side  the  labor  was  performed  by 
American  citizens. 

Mr.  QUIN.    Will  the  gentleman  yield? 

Mr.  CANNON.  I  will  yield  to  the  gentleman,  if  he  will  be 
quick. 

Mr.  QUIN.  I  think  the  gentleman  is  mistaken  about  servile 
labor  in  the  South ;  a  man  who  worked  was  considered  just  a.s 
good  as  anybody  else. 

Mr.  CANNON.  And  yet  you  take  the  mountainous  spots,  and 
ir  was  a  common  saying  that  the  negro  slave  was  cared  for  in 
his  old  age,  and  although  he  did  not  vote  he  looked  down  upon 
the  poor  white  with  disdain.  Take  Dixon's  book.  Leopard's 
Spots.  It  is  an  overdrawn  picture  of  the  conditions  before  the 
Civil  War.  I  was  acquainted  somewhat  with  the  immigrants 
that  came  from  the  Southland  to  Illinois  and  Indiana.  It  was 
not  very  lovely  for  the  white  man  down  there  that  did  not 
own  slaves.  But  that  is  all  behind  us.  It  is  wonderful  how 
well  you  have  done,  but  think  of  it.  The  hum  of  the  spindles 
is  being  heard,  the  mines  are  being  opened,  your  lumber  is 
being  marketed,  and  with  it  all  there  has  been  prosperity. 

Good  heavens !  If  you  could  get  20  per  cent  or  could  have 
received  20  per  cent  of  the  immigration  that  the  Northland  has 
been  getting  since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  if  it  could  have 
gone  down  there,  you  would  have  been  50  years  ahead  in  your 
material  development,  and  I  believe  50  years  ahead  in  every 
34.307—15334 


14 

kind  of  development  of  where  you  are  now.     [Applause.]     It 
will  come  in  time,  and  Godspeed  the  time! 

QUALIFICATIONS    FOR    VOTING. 

But,  Jlr.  Chairman,  I  have  some  very  interesting  ficrnres 
here  which  I  desire  to  call  to  the  attention  of  the  committee. 
I  get  these  figures  from  the  World  Almanac — and  you  can  not 
dispute  what  the  World  Almanac  says,  you  are  estopped. 
[Laughter.]  I  presume  it  is  correct.  I  gathere<l  these  statis- 
tics from  that  puhlication  last  night.  In  the  State  of  Alahama 
an  alien  who  has  declared  his  intention,  or  taken  out  his  first 
papers,  as  it  is  called,  and  who  has  lived  in  the  State  for  two 
years,  is  made  a  voter. 

Mr.  BURNETT.  Mr.  Chairman,  the  gentleman  is  mistaken, 
and  if  the  World  Almanac  says  that  it  is  mistaken.  He  has  to 
be  a  naturalized  citizen  in  order  to  vote. 

Mr.  CANNON.     How  long  has  that  been  the  case? 

Mr.  BURNETT.  Ever  since  the  new  constitution  of  1901, 
and  possibly  further  back. 

Mr.  CANNON.  Thank  God,  there  is  progress  there.  [Laugh- 
ter.] I  am  merely  taking  these  from  the  World  Almanac,  and 
I  am  glad  that  the  gentleman  has  interrupted  me. 

Mr.  BURNETT.  Oh,  I  knew  that  the  gentleman  did  not  in- 
tend to  misrepresent  anyone,  and  I  desire  to  call  his  attention 
to  the  fact  that  Indiana  is  one  of  the  States  that  he  has  in  mind. 

Mr.  CANNON.  Oh,  yes;  I  am  coming  to  that  in  a  moment. 
Take  Arkansas :  First  papers  and  one  year's  residence  is  all 
that  is  necessary  to  entitle  a  man  to  vote.  Is  that  correct? 
Now  we  come  to  Indiana — Indiana,  a  State  in  which  I  grew  up, 
of  which  I  am  proud,  and  I  live  within  6  miles  of  the  western 
border  now ;  Indiana,  with  her  great  Democratic  representation 
in  this  House,  solid  two  years  ago;  Indiana,  composed  of  our 
kind  of  people  and  so  represented — and  what  do  we  find  the  case 
to  be  there?  An  alien  on  declaring  his  intention  to  bect)me  a 
naturalized  citizen,  if  he  lives  in  the  State  for  six  months,  is 
entitled  to  vote.  Oh,  judging  from  the  votes  of  some  of  our 
Indiana  friends.  Great  heavens  !  [Laughter.]  Why  do  you  not 
take  the  beam  out  of  your  own  eye  and  do  what  you  can  to  cure 
alleged  abuses,  rather  than  to  come  in  here  and  vote  for  and 
advocate  this  literacy  test?  Now  comes  Kansas  :  A  declaration  of 
intention  and  a  residence  of  six  months  let  these  illiterate  people 
vote  there.  Missouri — show  me !  A  declaration  of  intention 
and  a  residence  of  one  year  permits  this  illiterate  alien  to  vote 
there. 

The  World  Almanac  has  this  note  at  the  head  of  this  table 
of  statistics: 

.34307—15334 


15 

CommunloatPd  to  tho  World  Almanac  and  corrected  to  date  l)y  th9 
attorneys  general  of  the  respective  States. 

Ami  now  conies  Nebraska:  Halt!  First  papers  and  six 
months'  residence  entitles  a  man  to  vote.  Is  tliat  rifilit?  Tiiink 
of  it!  The  liome  of  William  Jennings  Bryan!  [Laii.;;hter.] 
Texas:  A  great  State.  Some  one  said  that  it  is  largei  tlian 
Germany.  One  year's  residence  and  first  paper,  so  the  World 
Almanac  says,  entitles  the  illiterate  alien  to  vote. 

ALIEN  LABOR  FOB  SOUTH  AND  X?:W  ENGLAXD. 

Mr.  Chairman,  before  I  forget  it  I  desire  to  call  attention  to 

a  particularly  vital  matter  in  this  bill,  and  I  desire  to  read  it 

now.     I  will  ask  Jlembcrs  to  turn  to  page  3.     Speaking  of  the 

poll  tax,  it  is  providetl : 

That  the  said  tax  shall  not  lie  levied  on  account  of  aliens  who  enter 
the  United  States  from  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  Newfoundland,  the 
Republic  of  Cuba,  or  the  Republic  of  Mexico  for  a  temporary  stay — 

Does  that  let  in  the  factory  labor  for  a  temporary  stay  in 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  I  will  ask  the  distinguished  gentle- 
man from  that  State  [Mr.  Gakdner]?  I  want  to  ask  the  gen- 
tlemen from  Texas,  does  that  let  in  Mexican  laborers  from  the 
Kepublie  of  ^Mexico  when  you  desire  laborers  to  pick  your  cotton 
and  harvest  your  crops?  I  am  reliably  informed  Mexicans  cross 
the  border  there  periodically  for  agricultural  labor.  I  guess  it 
does  ;  I  guess  it  does. 

Mr.  SI.AYDEX.  Mr.  Chairman,  if  the  gentleman  desires  me 
to  answer  that  question  I  will  do  so,  but  I  do  not  want  to  take 
up  the  gentleman's  time. 

Mr.  CANNON.  Very  well.  I  will  be  very  glad  if  it  can  be 
answered,  because  the  gentleman  from  Alabama  [Mr.  Bvrnett], 
in  his  remarks  upon  the  adoption  of  this  rule,  said  that  the 
present  IMexicun  war,  in  his  opinion — I  think  I  quote  him  cor- 
rectly ;  or  threat  of  war,  at  least — the  condition  down  there  on 
the  border,  which  caused  the  death  of  citizens  in  Texas  and  of 
our  soldiers,  was  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  literacy 
test. 

Mr.  GALIJVAN.     That  is  what  he  said. 

Mr.  CANNON.  ]\Ir.  Chairman,  I  want  to  tell  a  little  story  if 
I  can  in  my  time.  I  knew  Judge  Holman  of  Indiana  very  well. 
I  served  with  him  for  many  years.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  who  ever  served  in  Congress  from  that  State ; 
a  perfect  gentleman,  an  able  legislator,  but  he  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  the  "  watchdog  "  of  the  Trea.sury.  Years  before 
he  died  once  in  a  while  I  woidd  meet  him,  and  we  would  take 
a  drink  together.  Now,  I  can  take  a  drink,  and  it  will  not 
affect  me  much,  but  if  he  ever  took  one  or  two  he  became  ex- 

34307—15334 


16 

ceedingly  bright,  and  he  would  reminisce.  [Laughter.]  One 
day  he  met  an  old  friend  of  his  from  Vermont  who  had  served 
with  him  in  former  years,  who  was  second  auditor  under  Grant ; 
I  forget  his  name.  He  shook  hands  with  us,  but  he  did  not 
drink;  he  would  not  drink  at  all.  Holman  said  to  this  gentle- 
man, "  Oh,  I  recollect  our  service  with  very  great  pleasure.  We 
were  both  called  watchdogs  of  the  Treasury.  So  we  were, 
so  Ave  were,  but  we  always  had  sense  enough  not  to  growl  when 
our  friends  were  around."     [Prolonged  laughter.] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  time  of  the  gentleman  from  Illinois 
has  expired. 

Mr.  CANNON.     Oh,  just  one  minute  more. 

Mr.  SIEGEL.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  yield  two  minutes  more  to  the 
gentleman. 

Mr.  CANNON.  I  have  enough  here  to  talk  three  hours,  but  I 
want  to  apply  that  story.  There  is  to  be  no  head  tax  of  $8  for 
people  Avho  come  in  from  Canada  or  Mexico  and  these  other 
places — temporarily  !     [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  proud  of  this  country ;  I  am  glad  to  have 
been  born  in  this,  or  perhaps  I  had  better  say  in  the  last,  gener- 
ation. I  would  like  to  live  to  see  the  swing  of  the  twentieth 
century  and  what  it  will  bring.  Nature  is  kindly  ;  I  can  quit 
whenever  the  man  with  the  scythe  comes,  but  I  desire  to  say 
tliat  I  have  this  faith,  that  we  will  grow  stronger  and  stronger, 
and  that  we  will  continue  to  become  so  and  to  live  under  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  which  guarantees  property, 
liberty,  freedoiu  in  religious  opinion,  with  legislation  that  shall 
cover  the  rich  and  poor,  the  great  and  small,  the  high  and  low, 
everyone  within  our  borders,  native  born  or  naturalized,  like 
the  grace  of  God,  and  that  imder  it  we  will  make  our  laws 
strong  enough  to  restrain  the  strongest  and  to  protect  the 
weakest,  and  that  for  more  centuries  than  I  can  say  the  great 
Republic  will  grow  and  grow  and  continue  to  retain  as  it  ought 
to  our  privileges  and  our  civilization.  [Prolonged  applause.] 
34307— 1.'5334 


WA.SUINOTO.N  :   nOVBUNMBNT  I'UINTI.NC  OKFICK  :    191« 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  031888719 


